Top software-engineering books mentioned on stackoverflow.com

The average book on Agile software development describes a fairyland of greenfield projects, with wall-to-wall tests that run after every few edits, and clean & simple source code.

The average software project, in our industry, was written under some aspect of code-and-fix, and without automated unit tests. And we can't just throw this code away; it represents a significant effort debugging and maintaining. It contains many latent requirements decisions. Just as Agile processes are incremental, Agile adoption must be incremental too. No more throwing away code just because it looked at us funny.

Mike begins his book with a very diplomatic definition of "Legacy". I'l skip ahead to the undiplomatic version: Legacy code is code without unit tests.

Before cleaning that code up, and before adding new features and removing bugs, such code must be de-legacified. It needs unit tests.

To add unit tests, you must change the code. To change the code, you need unit tests to show how safe your change was.

The core of the book is a cookbook of recipes to conduct various careful attacks. Each presents a particular problem, and a relatively safe way to migrate the code towards tests.

Code undergoing this migration will begin to experience the benefits of unit tests, and these benefits will incrementally make new tests easier to write. These efforts will make aspects of a legacy codebase easy to change.

It's an unfortunate commentary on the state of our programming industry how much we need this book.

Capturing a wealth of experience about the design of object-oriented software, four top-notch designers present a catalog of simple and succinct solutions to commonly occurring design problems. Previously undocumented, these 23 patterns allow designers to create more flexible, elegant, and ultimately reusable designs without having to rediscover the design solutions themselves. The authors begin by describing what patterns are and how they can help you design object-oriented software. They then go on to systematically name, explain, evaluate, and catalog recurring designs in object-oriented systems. With Design Patterns as your guide, you will learn how these important patterns fit into the software development process, and how you can leverage them to solve your own design problems most efficiently. Each pattern describes the circumstances in which it is applicable, when it can be applied in view of other design constraints, and the consequences and trade-offs of using the pattern within a larger design. All patterns are compiled from real systems and are based on real-world examples. Each pattern also includes code that demonstrates how it may be implemented in object-oriented programming languages like C++ or Smalltalk. 0201633612B07092001

This volume is a handbook for enterprise system developers, guiding them through the intricacies and lessons learned in enterprise application development. It provides proven solutions to the everyday problems facing information systems developers.

Features the best practices in the art and science of constructing software--topics include design, applying good techniques to construction, eliminating errors, planning, managing construction activities, and relating personal character to superior software. Original. (Intermediate)

Users can dramatically improve the design, performance, and manageability of object-oriented code without altering its interfaces or behavior. "Refactoring" shows users exactly how to spot the best opportunities for refactoring and exactly how to do it, step by step.

Write clean code that works with the help of this groundbreaking software method. Example-driven teaching is the basis of Beck's step-by-step instruction that will have readers using TDD to further their projects.

In designing large-scale C++ applications, you are entering a dimension barely skimmed by most C++ books, particularly considering experience with small programming projects does not scale up to larger projects. This book unites high-level design concepts with specific C++ programming details to reveal practical methods for planning and implementing high-quality large C++ systems. You will learn the importance of physical design in large systems, how to structure your software as an acyclic hierarchy of components, and techniques for reducing link-time and compile-time dependencies. Then the book turns to logical design issues--architecting a component, designing a function, and implementing an object--all in the context of a large-project environment.

"Dependency Injection in .NET" is a comprehensive guide that introduces DI to .NET developers. It covers core concepts and patterns, and introduces important DI frameworks, such as StructureMap, Windsor, and Spring.NET.

Written by a software developer for software developers, this book is a unique collection of the latest software development methods. The author incudes OOD, UML, Design Patterns, Agile and XP methods with a detailed description of a complete software design for reusable programs in C++ and Java. Using a practical, problem-solving approach, it shows how to develop an object-oriented application -- from the early stages of analysis, through the low-level design and into the implementation. Walks readers through the designer's thoughts — showing the errors, blind alleys, and creative insights that occur throughout the software design process. Covers: Statics and Dynamics; Principles of Class Design; Complexity Management; Principles of Package Design; Analysis and Design; Patterns and Paradigm Crossings. Explains the principles of OOD, one by one, and then demonstrates them with numerous examples, completely worked-through designs, and case studies. Covers traps, pitfalls, and work arounds in the application of C++ and OOD and then shows how Agile methods can be used. Discusses the methods for designing and developing big software in detail. Features a three-chapter, in-depth, single case study of a building security system. For Software Engineers, Programmers, and Analysts who want to understand how to design object oriented software with state of the art methods.

This volume helps take some of the "mystery" out of identifying and dealing with key algorithms. Drawing heavily on the author's own real-world experiences, the book stresses design and analysis. Coverage is divided into two parts, the first being a general guide to techniques for the design and analysis of computer algorithms. The second is a reference section, which includes a catalog of the 75 most important algorithmic problems. By browsing this catalog, readers can quickly identify what the problem they have encountered is called, what is known about it, and how they should proceed if they need to solve it. This book is ideal for the working professional who uses algorithms on a daily basis and has need for a handy reference. This work can also readily be used in an upper-division course or as a student reference guide.THE ALGORITHM DESIGN MANUAL comes with a CD-ROM that contains:* a complete hypertext version of the full printed book.* the source code and URLs for all cited implementations.* over 30 hours of audio lectures on the design and analysis of algorithms are provided, all keyed to on-line lecture notes.

A quick and reliable way to build proven databases for core business functions Industry experts raved about The Data Model Resource Book when it was first published in March 1997 because it provided a simple, cost-effective way to design databases for core business functions. Len Silverston has now revised and updated the hugely successful First Edition, while adding a companion volume to take care of more specific requirements of different businesses. Each volume is accompanied by a CD-ROM, which is sold separately. Each CD-ROM provides powerful design templates discussed in the books in a ready-to-use electronic format, allowing companies and individuals to develop the databases they need at a fraction of the cost and a third of the time it would take to build them from scratch. Updating the data models from the First Edition CD-ROM, this resource allows database developers to quickly load a core set of data models and customize them to support a wide range of business functions.

A Microsoft developer examines the problem of programming "bugs," showing how and where developers make mistakes along the development process and providing ways users can detect errors early. Original.